Vacuum sealing is a well known technique for increasing the shelf life of a wide variety of articles. Numerous types of apparatus and methods for vacuum sealing articles in plastic bags have been previously introduced. Some of these are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,928,829, 5,450,963, 5,480,030, and 5,537,806. Other devices for vacuum sealing include Pump N Seal, Pro Seal, Seal A Meal, Deni Vacuum Food Sealer, FoodSaver, FreshSaver, and VacLoc bags. Many of these apparatus are expensive and complex, requiring the purchase of specialized equipment and bags. Previous vacuum sealing systems may include a vacuum source, a bag welder or other bag sealing device, and/or a one-way valve through which the bag may be evacuated. The bags used with such apparatus are expensive and must typically be purchased from the manufacturer of the vacuum sealer. The bags may be adapted to include a one-way valve or means for sealing the bag after it has been evacuated. Some of these previous vacuum sealing systems employ a household vacuum cleaner as the vacuum source. However, these systems still require complex valves and/or bag sealing equipment. A need therefore exists for economical methods and apparatus for enabling vacuum sealing without specialized containers. Such methods and apparatus may employ a household vacuum cleaner as the vacuum source and zipper-type plastic bags (such as Zip-Lock.RTM. bags) available at grocery stores or other retail outlets.